An 85” ultra high definition TV will retail in Europe for £35,000 from
Samsung, the manufacturer has confirmed.

The S9, which will be followed later in the year by a 110” model, will sell for €40,000 in Europe this Spring.

It offers a resolution four times that of standard HD TV, and upscales content to the new resolution, which currently lacks any major source of material outside films from Hollywood.

Although a specific UK price has not yet been confirmed, it is likely to be above £30,000.

The first UHDTV broadcast services will begin in Japan next year in time for the football World Cup final in Brazil.

In Britain, trials by both the BBC and Sky have been completed for sporting events, including the Olympics and football from Arsenal's Emirates stadium. There are however as yet no plans for commercial services.

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Sony has recently launched a home cinema system that can ‘upscale’ conventional content, and other sets from LG and Sony are already on sale at lower prices.

All the major TV manufacturers are promoting UHDTV services, with Sony, Panasonic, LG, Sharp and Samsung showing off new models at this year’s CES show in Las Vegas.

In Europe, Samsung now accounts for one in three of all TVs sold, and the company announced at its European Forum in Monaco that it now sells three TVs per second.

Samsung also said that for the first time since the financial cirisis consumers are now spending more on television. Models of 46” and above are becoming increasingly standard, as are smart TVs.

Analysts believe that high UHDTV prices, coupled with consumers’ “upgrade fatigue” could mean the technology’s breakthrough remains years away, despite manufacturers’ focus on the new standard.

Samsung’s TV will also feature a new interface that replaces the conventional ‘electronic programme guide’, or channel list, with five screens that make internet connectivity central to the idea of television and will be the first thing users see when they turn on their Samsung TV for the first time.

Users will swipe between screens on their TV as they do on tablets or smartphones, and will also be able to use voice commands.

The new Smart Hub will begin with ‘On TV’, will include what’s on now as well as personalised suggestions for each viewer; separate homescreens, which users will swipe to with either gesture or remote control, will then cover on-demand movies and TV, photos, video and music from users’ own collections and then also social features and Smart TV apps.